The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus configured to feed a medium (for example, a recording medium or a reading medium) and form an image. Particularly, the present invention relates to the image forming apparatus having a configuration facilitating removal of a jammed medium.
A general image forming apparatus is configured to feed a medium using a pair of feeding rollers nipping the medium therebetween. For example, Japanese Laid-open Publication No. H08-72344 (see FIG. 1) discloses an image forming apparatus having a configuration for preventing separation of gears of the feeding rollers when feeding a thick medium or a plurality of stacked media.
However, in the general image forming apparatus, there is a possibility that the medium may be jammed. Particularly, if the medium is damaged (for example, torn), the medium may be caught between guide members of a medium feeding path and may be cut into fine pieces. In such a case, it is troublesome to remove the medium (i.e., the fine pieces) from the image forming apparatus.
In order to facilitate removal of the jammed medium, the image forming apparatus may be configured to be divisible into two units at the medium feeding path. However, in such a case, when the two units are joined, gears of the feeding rollers (mounted to the respective units) may hit each other. Therefore, the gears of the feeding rollers may be damaged.